Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 1
आनर्तौवाच । श्रुता मया महाभाग श्राद्धार्हा ब्राह्मणाश्च ये । ये च त्याज्यास्तथा पुत्रा बहवश्चैव सुव्रत
ānartauvāca | śrutā mayā mahābhāga śrāddhārhā brāhmaṇāśca ye | ye ca tyājyāstathā putrā bahavaścaiva suvrata
Ānartā sprach: „O Edler, ich habe von den Brāhmaṇas gehört, die würdig sind, Śrāddha zu empfangen, und auch von denen, die zu meiden sind; ebenso habe ich von vielen Arten von Söhnen (im Hinblick auf die Riten) gehört — o du von vortrefflichen Gelübden.“
Ānartā
Tirtha: Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra
Type: kshetra
Listener: Śaunaka and ṛṣis (outer frame, implied)
Scene: Ānartā, dignified and inquisitive, addresses the sage Bhartṛyajña in a tīrtha-āśrama near a Śiva shrine; palm-leaf texts and ritual items indicate the śrāddha topic.
FAQs
Śrāddha is not mere formality; it requires knowledge of dharmic eligibility so the rite truly benefits the ancestors.
The broader setting is Hāṭakeśvara-kṣetra within the Nāgarakhaṇḍa’s Tīrthamāhātmya, though this verse itself is introductory dialogue.
It introduces the topic of eligibility (ārha/tyājya) for Śrāddha recipients and related familial categories, preparing for the procedural teaching.